It is an honour to serve as President of the 177th session of the Literary and Scientific Society, also known as the Literific. Established by E.L. Godkin in 1850, the Literific is the oldest society on campus at Queens, predating the Student’s Union. Over the past 176 years, the society has become a centre for debate and discourse both within the university and externally within Northern Ireland itself.
The Literifc is an active society that holds events catering to many students regardless of degree, background, age, social class, political affiliation, etc. We have weekly term time chamber debates at 7 pm every Thursday following a packed term card with motions to appeal to a wide range of interest, and if there’s something you want to debate, feel free to suggest it for the next term card! Outside our ordinary meetings, we also hold various other events, such as LitTalks, allowing students to propose questions to notable guests. Also, within ordinary meetings, we often have great debates where students can speak alongside guest speakers, honing in on improving their debate skills.
Improvement is at the heart of the Literific; as someone who came to the society and had never debated before, I can personally vouch for the difference the Literific has made not only to my public speaking skills and debating ability but also to my confidence. Debating for the first time can be incredibly daunting; that is why we also run regular training workshops for all different types of debating styles, such as chamber debating and British Parliamentary debating, as well as more general public speaking skills and allowing members to practice in a more laid-back environment with more experienced speakers offering feedback.
Furthermore, we offer many external debating opportunities to improve students’ skills, including competing in the well-respected Irish Times debate competition. We also send teams to various inter-varsity competitions across Great Britain and the island of Ireland. Additionally, towards the end of the term, we also host our own competition, bringing student speakers to Belfast to compete.
It is not just our members whose skills we aim to improve; we also strive to empower and enhance the abilities and confidence of the next generation. Another of our yearly events is our school’s competition, whereby we work with schools throughout Northern Ireland, offering training sessions for students to improve their skills. Then, those selected compete in the final round of the school’s competition.
We are still a university society, so we’re not always serious! We also offer a wide range of social activities such as pub crawls, karaoke and drunk debates, and after every debate, we head to a pub afterwards for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages alike. Also, we have our annual formal known as Conversazione in the Ulster Reform Club each year. The Literific has had such a positive impact on my social life and life outside of university; it has provided me and others with many fantastic opportunities. I hope that the Literific can do the same for you. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact me at president@literific.org! I would be happy to hear from you.
Daniel Devenney
President of the 177th Session
The Literary and Scientific Society